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Published 11:30 am Friday, March 6, 2026<\/p>\n
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The Arrogant Worms musical comedy trio, known for hits like \u2018Canada\u2019s Really Big\u2019 and \u2018The Last Saskatchewan Pirate\u2019 will play at Knox United Church in Parksville on March 19.<\/p>\n
They have been making music about Canada for 35 years now, but their latest album Canadian Famous<\/em> has proven extra resonant given the threats to the country\u2019s sovereignty by a certain U.S. president.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really Canadiana based, even more than usual, so mostly kind of straight up Canadian songs,\u201d said Trevor Strong, who sings and \u201ccounts merch\u201d in the band. \u201cOur timing was great.\u201d<\/p>\n The Arrogant Worms started as a cabaret comedy group when the members were attending Queens University in Kingston, he said, and was originally an \u201camorphous blob of people who recorded sketch comedy\u201d.<\/p>\n Strong had a friend who worked for the campus radio who would play the Worms\u2019 skits. What started as a much larger group eventually boiled down to the trio of Strong, Chris Patterson (bass and vocals) and Mike McCormick (guitar and vocals).<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started doing more shows outside of Kingston we learned very quickly that it\u2019s much easier to play a song in a bar than it is to do a sketch. So the sketches kind of fell away,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Three decades-plus later and the band has released 14 albums, had their music played in outer space on the space shuttle Endeavour, performed to a crowd of 100,000 for Canada Day on Parliament Hill and starred alongside the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n Strong finds the best way to get the creative juices flowing is to limit himself, for example by recording a solo album called Too Many Songs About Cats<\/em> and he\u2019s currently working on Too Many Songs About <\/em>Love<\/em>, which he said includes \u201cterrible love songs\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t speak for the other guys, but I\u2019ve I decided that I\u2019m just putting out a poorly-recorded solo album every year, like just recording it in my house,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The band puts out one new song each month on its Patreon account, with songs dedicated to everything from pickleball to jellyfish. The monthly deadline pressure and limitations help motivate Strong, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever missed. which is pretty surprising. I think we put the occasional dodgy quality work up there, but we\u2019ve always got something,\u201d he added. \u201cIf I don\u2019t have a deadline, I\u2019m not going to do something. So having these kind of arbitrary deadlines for me anyway I find really helpful even though it\u2019s a little stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n The best part of a tour, besides the shows themselves, is seeing fans across the country, getting out of the routine and trying out new material.<\/p>\n The audience has grown along with the band and it\u2019s not uncommon for people who grew up with their music to bring their children to see the family-friendly concerts, Strong added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have a lot of that now,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople will come up to us and say \u2018I\u2019ve been listening to you since I was a little kid\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The band doesn\u2019t tour outside of Ontario as much as they used to, but Strong still looks forward to a two-week tour of B.C. This year, they\u2019ll get as far north as Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert, in addition to shows in the Lower Mainland and the Island.<\/p>\n The Arrogant Worms will play at Knox United Church at 7 p.m. on March 19. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Tickets are $35 and are available online through Eventbrite<\/a> and with cash at local retailers Close to You Boutique, Edge Outdoors and Fireside Books.<\/p>\n